Tally Charts & Frequency Tables

What is a frequency table?

If you have lots of individual pieces of data then it can be easier to understand the data if you use a frequency table
The frequency of an option is how many times it appears
A frequency table shows all the different options alongside how many times each option appears
- For example : if there are 5 blue marbles in a ball and 7 red marbles then instead of listing out the colours of all 12 individual marbles you can summarise it in a frequency table

Colour	Frequency
Blue	5
Red	7

What is a tally chart?

If the same option appears lots of times then you can use a tally to keep track of how many times it appears
Each time the option appears you draw a line
- For the first four times it appears draw a vertical line $|$
- The fifth time it appears draw a diagonal line through the four vertical lines $| | | |$
- Continue counting in sets of five
Once you have completed the tally it is then easy to find the total
Count up in 5s and then add any extras on
- $| | | | | | | | | | |$ means 5 + 5 + 3 = 13

Worked example

Susie asks her friends to select their favourite type of pet.
Represent the data in a frequency table. You can use a tally chart to help.

Dog	Cat	Dog	Dog	Dog
Rabbit	Dog	Rabbit	Cat	Cat
Cat	Dog	Dog	Rabbit	Dog
Cat	Cat	Dog	Dog	Dog

Draw a table with a tally column and a frequency column. Then use the tally to help you to count. You can cross off the data once it is counted if that helps.

Type of pet	Tally	Frequency
Dog	$\| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|$	11
Cat	$\| \| \| \| \|$	6
Rabbit	$\| \| \|$	3

Tally Charts & Frequency Tables (CIE IGCSE Maths: Core)

Revision Note

Tally Charts & Frequency Tables

What is a frequency table?

What is a tally chart?

Worked example

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Author: Dan